The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1887-12-29

/ OAAS0s UOu Y Sdo uVW ~ COulO d OSoU
nothin' o. de kim. I amt 'sputin' but
what 9 rat kin walk powerful Wig rous
when he's got things to hisself bout
midnight. and you alayins' in yo' bed
and afeared to Ak HIM who dat?' But
| amt heard you say you heard any
thing scamper, and then varmints
most inginrully scampers when they
sec you a-comin'."
"You can stand there and hear the
rest OF the story" said Mrs. Judge.
'"Thank you, mistiss: ''I'll stay:
but it most done gimme the creeps al
ready"
1.-THE next night" continued the
story-teller, ''the same thing occurred.
contrary to my expectation, tor had
thought the whole q hallucination,
conjured up by The Raven. On the
third night as midnight approached
could not help thinking of my strange
visitor. So l sat up, dressed and
waited. Sure enough, just as the clock
began to strike, I heard the same
bold, heavy step, starting, as usual, at
the kitchen door. Instantly I took
my candle in one hand and seized the
door-knob with the other. l waited
till the steps halted, against my door,
when thrust it violently open, leap
ing at, one bound into the middle Of
the hall: Finding absolutely nothing,
rushed to the main hall. I heard
nothing saw nothing. All the doors
were locked, all the windows closed.
The next night I pursued exactly
the same tactics with precisely the
same result. l made up my mind
that / was throwing away my time
trying to catch that ghost"
| "Lor' me! Mr.. May, s'pose you had
a'cotch him? What could human
do wild one O. dem sperrits.''
| "Quite true, Uncle Billy; I never
thought of that. Well, he came every
night, and never went away, as far as
] could hear. So, instead of trying to
catch him, l locked my door so that
he might not catch me, and slept as
we'll as l could. Naturally I did not
mention these occurrences to the la
dies; but when the sheriff came home,
and he and were lying in bed reading,
could keep the secret no longer. /
must say, however, that l had hard
work making up my mind to begin.
AS l read. cast my eyes at his stall
wart form again and again before I
could summon the courage to tell
such a cock and bull story had
known him from boy, and known
him to be q man as totally without
Imagination as without fear. What
would he think of me? However:
"Lyt." began.
"E'm?"
He kept on reading and I called to
him again. This time he made q
book-marker OF his forefinger and fix
ed his eyes dreamily upon me.
"Lyt," l began, and Twas conscious
that ! colored, "Lyt, did you ever i'm
aeine that you heard footsteps in this
part of the house late at night?''
Instantly he dropped his book and
rose up in bed, a smile of triumph on
his face.
$50, he has been after you. has he?"
do you mean to say" began, ris-
ing from my pillow.
What! That COMPOUNDED thing"
"Stalks up to the door and then
isn't there when you open it,"
"Oh, you needn't tell me anything
about him. He has been calling on
me for fifteen years, off and on. Some
times he goes off for whole year or
more, and then he will come every
night for a fortnight. And he has paid
his respects to you, has he?" and Lyt
tell back upon his pillow with a shout
OF laughter.
II don't find it amusing, " rejoined /.
"Why, no. not amusing exactly;
but you see 1 now know that 1 am
not crazy, which I was not 80 sure of
before. That is why I never told you
the story"
"What are we to do when he comes
tonight, If he so favors u.s."
"YOu can do as you darn please.
but shall not stir out of this bed"
"Have you ever tried to catch him?"
"Have I ever tried? Why hum
dred times. Do you see that whole in
the door? Well, one night when no
one was at home except myself. sent
q ball through after him. No use."
We talked for some time and then
began reading again. I kept glancing
at the clock, however. and when we
were within five minutes OF midnight
l could no longer fix my gaze on my
book: At last the clock slowly tolled
out the hour.
"Well," said Lyt, Il suppose he
don't like to call on two at time;"
and the sturdy fellow blew out his
candle and turned over to go to sleep.
He had hardly done so when the
heavy step shook the room. kept
silent. Was it my imagination? No,
for Lyt wheeled over and faced me
with another smile of triumph.
leaped from my bed and laid nv
hand upon the knob.
"Catch him by the ears" said Lyt,
land haul him in. Let's see what he
looks like!"
l leaped into the hall, as before,
and with the same result. Ladies and
gentlemen, that is the end of my little
ghost story. It has no denouement;
but that is not my fauIt; you will
have to blame the ghost for that.
After innumerable comments and
questio ions Ito all which Mr.. May
steadily replied that his story was
literally true in every particularly, one
OF the young ladies asked Uncle Billy
what he thought of it. "Was it q
ghost?"
"Oh, no, young mistress; dat warn't
no ghost. Billy kin tell you DAT, sho!
Ol!y huO" d enOSC ScapermenCS same
as he eat his breakfast. Is l ever see
g. ghost, you axe me? See a chose? /
believe you! Chooses? Why when
used to 60 to my wife's house. l
don't mean this Sally 1 got now here
on de place, but Mr.. Cabelps Mllly,
was seekin' religin' in dem days, an
l 'clar TO de Laud when I used to
pass de old ruinious graveyard up do
road, the chooses was as thick as h'yar
on q dogs back. Milly she had de
rhumatiz powerful, and at last it
struck her innerds, and de Laud took
her and it sort O. looked like q musu-
full providence, seem as how had to
pass by dist graveyard every sat'day
night. Lor' me, young mistress,
what y'all laughin' bout? But as
was q sayin' Ineber wants to see
chooses no thicker than thew used to